One of the foundations of handling your finances successfully is to know where all your money goes, and what you spend it on. Our family just went through our beginning of the year round of teeth cleanings and checkups and as I sat in the chair wondering why it’s so freaking hard for the hygienist to prevent herself from poking me in the gums repeatedly (I HATE that), I also wondered just how much the maintenance of my our teeth costs us for a calendar year.
So when I got home, I broke it down:
Cleanings: Our family of four diligently gets our teeth cleaned twice a year.
$137 per cleaning * 4 family members * 2 times a year = $1096.
However, cleanings and checkups are covered by our insurance which is $70 a month * 12 months = $840.
Note: Wow, I had no idea that my insurance actually SAVES me money if we get our recommended cleanings!
Tooth Brushes: We all get a toothbrush for free each time we visit the dentist. That’s what I use, however the rest of my family uses the SonicCare electric toothbrush. We replace the heads each time we visit the dentist.
3 family members * 2 heads a year = 6 heads. They come in packages of two for $17 (generic brand) so that’s 3 * 17 = $51 a year.
Tooth Paste: We have a tube in each of our bathrooms (3), and we need new ones about every two months (I think?). So that’s 18 tubes of toothpaste in a year * $3 a tube for the size we purchase = $54.
Whitener: Vonnie likes to have her smile as bright as possible. Whitening treatments through the dentist are quite expensive, and not covered by insurance. So she uses an at home product like teeth whitening gel by smile Brilliant. She does it twice a year (right after each bi-yearly cleaning), and it costs about $35 a pop = $70 a year.
If we have cavities or require some other procedure it would add to our cost, but in a normal year the grand total of maintaining the Pizel family chompers is….(drum-roll please!):
Have you ever calculated how much your teeth cost you and your family during the year? How much is it?